An Arizona media outlet tweeted last Friday that Blake Masters, the Republican venture capitalist running for U.S. Senate, “wants to allow states to ban contraception use.” The only problem, according to Masters, is that the AZ Mirror got its tweet and its news article on his position horribly wrong.
“I am pro-life. And of course I don’t think contraceptives should be outlawed,” Masters said later, responding to what he called a “disgusting hit piece” by Dillon Rosenblatt on May 6.
The article in question asserted as fact that Masters “thinks judges should also take aim at the right to buy and use contraception.” Rosenblatt goes on to explain how he came to that conclusion about Masters’ position before noting “Masters’ campaign could not immediately be reached for comment.”
One media outlet which picked up the AZ Mirror article went so far as to tweet that Masters was calling for condoms to be banned in all states.
The misrepresentation of Masters’ beliefs on contraception did not set well with the candidate, fueling a firestorm about the conduct and ethics of the Arizona journalists covering conservative lawmakers and candidates. He said the article is just one example of why “no one trusts the media anymore.”
We need Republicans who won’t run scared when the corrupt media establishment tries to intimidate them. That’s why I’m running for US Senate, because the time for kowtowing to these people is over. We will fight and we will win. https://t.co/EeSpAgw2nW
— Blake Masters (@bgmasters) May 7, 2022
Masters also spent time critiquing how his views came to be distorted by Rosenblatt -whom he called a hack and a weasel- and included an allegation that Rosenblatt published the article a mere 90 minutes after sending an inquiry to an incorrect Masters’ campaign email.
Hey @DillonReedRose you are a hack. This piece wildly misrepresents my views, which was your goal. Time for a thread about journalistic ethics & the way reporters shamelessly attack anyone to the right of AOC. https://t.co/0712xElFDZ
— Blake Masters (@bgmasters) May 7, 2022
In another tweet, Masters challenged Rosenblatt to update the article, something which has not been done as of press time Sunday.